THE VENERABLE FEMALE

June 25

From the Prologue

Febronia was the daughter of Prosphorus, a senator from Rome. In order to
avoid marriage with a mortal man, Febronia betrothed herself to Christ and was
tonsured a nun in the east, in the country of Assyria, in a convent where her
aunt Bryaena was abbess. Lysimachus, the son of a nobleman, desired to wed
Febronia but since Emperor Diocletian suspected him to be a secret Christian, he
sent Lysimachus to the east with his uncle Silenus to apprehend and kill
Christians. Silenus was as cruel as a beast and exterminated Christians
everywhere without mercy. Lysimachus, on the contrary, spared the Christians
wherever he could and hid them from his beast-like uncle. Making Palmyra a
wasteland of Christians, Silenus came to the town of Nisibis close to which was a
convent with fifty ascetics among whom was Febronia. Even though she was only
twenty years old, Febronia was respected in the convent and in the town because
of her great meekness, wisdom and restraint. In this convent the rule of the
former abbess Blessed Platonida was adhered to in that every Friday be spent only
in prayer and the reading of the sacred books without any other type of work.
Bryaena had designated Febronia to read the sacred books to the sisters hidden
behind a curtain so that no one would be distracted and captivated by the beauty
of her face. Hearing about Febronia, Silenus ordered that Febronia be brought to
him. But, when the holy virgin refused to deny Christ and to agree to enter into
marriage with a mortal man, Silenus ordered her to be whipped, and after that to
knock out her teeth, cut off her hands, breasts then legs and finally to slay her
with a sword. However, a horrible punishment from God befell the torturer the
same day. A rage entered into him and he was overcome by a deadly horror. In this
horror he struck his head against a marble pillar and fell dead. Lysimachus
ordered that Febronia's body be gathered and brought to the convent where it was
honorably buried and he, with many other soldiers, were baptized. Many healings
have occurred from the relics of St. Febronia and she appeared on the day of her
feast and stood in her usual place among the sisters and all the sisters looked
upon her with fear and rejoicing. St. Febronia suffered and took up habitation in
eternal blessedness in the year 310 A.D. In the year 363 A.D., her relics were
translated to Constantinople.